It is presently difficult and expensive to dispose of uranium and uranium alloy (e.g., uranium-titanium, uranium-molybdenum) chips obtained from machining operations. The chips must first be cleaned and dried. Water must be totally removed because water reacts with the uranium leaving hydrogen (H.sub.2) which presents an explosive hazard. The uranium and uranium alloy chips may then be compacted into discs to reduce volume and exposed surface area of the chips to oxidation. Groups of these discs are encapsulated in copper cans and crushed again. The copper can encloses the uranium further limiting the surface area of the uranium to oxidation. These crushed copper cans are then buried in designated waste sites.
The above disposal procedures are complex and expensive. Moreover, approximately 50% of the uranium material present at the beginning of the machining operation is buried and lost. Valuable resources are therefore wasted.